Volkswagen Group, the company behind VW, Audi, and Porsche, pledged to commit $1.7 billion to electrify heavy-duty vehicles like trucks and buses at an event in Germany on Wednesday. (Yes, this is the same company that got tangled up in not one, but two emissions-cheating scandals in the span of about a year.)

The release is one of multiple similar announcements made by big automakers this month:

Last week, General Motors, America's largest automaker, announced plans to release 20 all-electric vehicles by 2023. Two of those models will be unveiled in the next 18 months.

Not to be outdone, Ford Motor announced plans to release 13 electric models by 2020, and the company will electrify 40 percent of its cars worldwide by the end of the decade.

All these announcements come as big countries lay plans to start phasing out gas and diesel powered cars: France and the U.K. will ban fossil-fueled vehicles by 2040, Sweden and Scotland plan to ban them by 2032, Norway is on track to stop sales by 2025, and India will go gas-free by 2030. Even China, the world's largest market for automobiles, is working on a timeline for phasing out production of gas-powered cars.